The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Department
of Human Resources (IDHS) recognize youth substance use as a problem
shared by schools and communities alike. The survey results are used by
both ISBE and IDHS in program planning and evaluation, and individual
schools and districts benefit from having access to the results for
their student population. Administering the survey within schools,
rather than conducting it by telephone, allows for confidentiality and
therefore, provides more valid results.

The IYS allows for comprehensive planning of prevention initiatives by
indicating the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use, the rise of
prescription drug use, and the distribution of use across all
geographic areas of the state. This information is valuable to the
state, communities, and schools in targeting prevention initiatives. In
addition, the IYS collects information about school climate, safety, and
important contributing factors to youth risk behaviors that can impede
learning.

Research indicates that well-monitored self-report surveys produce valid
responses. Results from this survey and other comparable surveys show
similar patterns and levels of drug use (with variation based on locale
and year of survey), which also indicates validity in responses.

In addition, safeguards are built into the survey analysis to identify
over-reporting of drug use. Under-reporting of drug use is minimized by
assuring that survey participants are not associated with their
responses and by conducting the survey according to the instructions.

Requiring written parental consent (see below) may result in an
unrepresentative sample. Therefore, it is recommended that schools
implementing parental consent maintain a participation rate of 80% or
more (after absence rates are factored) in order to ensure valid survey
results.

6. What is the difference between parental consent and parental notification?

Parental consent and parental notification are permission methods that alert parents to the
nature of the survey to be administered, and both provide an option to exempt the student from participation. Parental
notification requires parents to send in a permission slip only
if they want to have their child excluded from the survey process.
Parental consent requires that parents send in a permission slip
indicating whether or not they want their child included in the survey process.

In addition to substance use and demographic questions, the survey
covers some risk and protective factors for youth drug use and other
youth risk behaviors. Because specific kinds of information about a
youth’s community, peers, school, and family are statistically
associated with degree of drug use among groups of youth, questions on
those topics are also included. In addition, there are questions about
violence and a few other problem behaviors. View more information on survey content.

A statewide aggregate report*, based on a random sample of Illinois
public schools, is generated approximately 8 to 12 months after survey
administration. This report analyzes the results across Illinois and
includes comparisons to the results from previous survey cycles.

County-level and Chicago Community Area reports* are made available
if enough schools participate within a given county so as to maintain
school confidentiality.

An individual school report is generated and sent solely to the
school principal approximately 4 to 6 weeks after surveying is completed. If there
are less than 10 students at any participating grade, no school results
can be generated for that grade.

Specialized analyses may be discussed with CPRD and timelines will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

14. Does participating in IYS lead students to experiment with new negative behaviors?

Questions on a survey do not pose a threat beyond the risks or hazards
already in a student’s life. Research shows that substance use usually
begins with either alcohol or tobacco. Exposure to alcohol or tobacco
use will not be new to students, as it is prevalent in popular media and
is often also seen among older siblings, friends, or friends' siblings.
Marijuana use usually doesn’t occur unless a youth is already regularly
using alcohol, and use of other drugs almost never happens unless a
youth is already regularly using marijuana. Progression beyond alcohol
use typically doesn’t happen unless there are some substantial risk
factors already present.

IYS questions are tailored to the age level of the student, with the
high school form covering the broadest set of behaviors and the eighth grade form covering a narrower focus. Survey items simply ask if
certain behaviors have occurred, neither encouraging nor discouraging
behaviors. Students are encouraged to talk to a parent, school
counselor, or other responsible adult if they are concerned about
behaviors covered in the survey. In addition, the students are offered
national crisis hotlines as another resource to express concerns.
View the list of hotlines offered on this website.

As with any discussion of social problems, parental responses will
likely vary. Some will enthusiastically support the administration of
the survey, while others may be skeptical. However, because underage
drinking and other drug use are dangerous and widespread, schools have
an obligation to proactively address the issue. Participating in the
IYS is one important step in that process because it provides guidance
on questions that parents, school personnel, and community members have,
including:

How much of a problem do we have?

What is the nature of that problem?

How can we address the problem?

Youth substance use is a community problem that intrudes upon the school
and can only be solved when schools, prevention experts, and concerned
parents work together. For these reasons, participation in the IYS
survey is recommended by the Illinois Department of Human Services and
the Illinois State Board of Education and supported by local personnel
funded by the state to help schools with local questions about
prevention and the survey.

16. How can we address parents' concerns about the questions that are asked on the survey?

Questions regarding substance use, school violence, and mental health
issues may be considered sensitive. However, the only way to assess
youth perception, attitudes, and behaviors in these areas is to ask
questions. Parents should know that the IYS questions are
age-appropriate, and students can choose to not answer any question, or opt out of participating if they wish. In addition, the survey is
administered in ways that protect the privacy of students, and
individual surveys are not linked to any personal identifiers. This means
that though an individual student may participate in subsequent years,
there is no way to track behavior changes for that specific student.

There is a tendency to doubt results when they are not as expected. However, given the validity of the survey
it is important to focus on how to address the problems and monitor the
progress by tracking all indicators related to the issues specific to
your school. Accurate data is a first step to taking action and is a
critical element when applying for funding.

Confidential school reports are generated for each participating school
within 4 to 6 weeks from completion of the survey. School reports are sent to the principal only. If enough schools
participate in your area, you may also obtain a county-level report.
Statewide reports are also available to you in the spring following the survey
administration year.

Yes. A webinar will be offered and recorded to help schools and other
providers understand and use their data for planning, measuring
progress, and/or applying for funding. Other training and technical
assistance are offered on demand to schools and their community
partners.

20.Can we compare our data with others (county, state, other schools in similar areas)?

Yes. If enough schools participate, you may be able to compare to your
county; you can also compare to groups of many other schools in similar
areas (Chicago, suburban Chicago, other urban, or rural communities),
and to the state. IYS questions are also comparable to other
national surveys, such as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health
(NSDUH), Monitoring the Future Survey, Behavioral Risk Factors
Surveillance Systems (BRFSS), and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
System (YRBS).

The IYS has been administered in the spring for more than a decade in
order to match the testing timeframe of other national youth surveys,
which allows for accurate comparisons between Illinois schools and
national data.

24. Why should we survey 8th graders / 12th graders when they are leaving?

Collecting IYS data for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders does more than provide data for the specific youth in those grades—it helps establish data trends for all students in those grades. So while this year’s 8th and 12th graders move on, their data will benefit the next group of 8th and 12th graders.

First, raise awareness of the IYS and demonstrate how the survey's data
are useful for making informed decisions about prevention programming,
monitoring, and applying for funding. Find other schools in the area
that could benefit from IYS data and develop a plan to approach the
school district superintendent. Emphasize that the survey is free of charge to schools. Share relevant IYS resources and refer to the IYS Coordinator at CPRD as needed.

Students who do not engage in substance use have better attendance, get
higher grades and test scores, and are less likely to skip school, drop
out, or engage in risky behaviors. The IYS is a key part of a statewide
effort to inform local schools and communities about youth attitudes and
behaviors regarding substance use, school violence, school climate,
and other health and mental health topics. The data obtained through the
IYS allows schools, communities, and state administrators to develop
strategic plans for promoting healthy behaviors among their youth.

The Illinois Department of Human Services, many Illinois counties, local
communities, and schools use IYS data in community health assessments
to provide baseline information required to apply for grants and other
funding sources, and for planning, evaluating, and reporting progress on
interventions that promote healthy behaviors in youth.

There are multiple safeguards in place to ensure that student confidentiality is maintained throughout data collection and reporting. Proctors are instructed to remain at the front of the classes, and students are asked to focus on their own answers and not make any marks on the paper survey. IYS collects no identifiers (such as name, student ID, or IP address) that would allow links to specific students, and IYS data reports follow established rules that offer additional protection for individual schools or districts. The study’s confidentiality procedures have been reviewed and approved by the University Illinois Institutional Review Board.

31. What about data confidentiality for school-issued devices assigned to one student?

The online survey is hosted on CPRD’s server, which is password protected and uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure to provide encrypted communication and secure identification of our network web server. IP addresses are not collected during online data collection. The only identifiers are the school and grade levels to ensure that an accurate response rate can be calculated.

32. I was the IYS coordinator at my school—when will I see my school’s IYS results?

School frequency reports are prepared within 6 weeks after survey administration, but to ensure the confidentiality of your school’s data, the report login and password are sent only to the principal of your school.

Reports themselves are not sent to schools. Instead, a login and password unique to each school is sent to the school principal only. This system allows access to data for all years the school has participated. If you are new to the role of principal at your school, or you can’t locate your login information, email us at cprd-iys@mx.uillinois.edu and we will be happy to resend it.

34. Why are specific words (such as CAR) written in all caps in questions U21-U26 on the high school survey?

Questions
U21-U26 on the IYS High School form were added following consultation with specialists in adolescent early
intervention. These items are from a 6 question screening tool called
the CRAFFT Screening Tool. The CRAFFT is used both in clinical and
primary care settings to screen adolescents for high risk alcohol and
other drug use behaviors. The screening questions DO NOT diagnose
substance use dependency or addiction but provide a way to determine
if there is an elevated need for schools and their community partners to
increase opportunities for referral and intervention services (such as Student Assistance Programs, school/district ATOD policy that refers
rather than punishes, etc.). Because CRAFFT is a validated screening
tool, the IYS uses the wording (with the words in all caps) exactly
as developed in the tool.

Want to be notified with status updates?Sign up for our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date!

About the Illinois Youth Survey

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) has funded the administration of the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) biennially since 1993. The IYS is a self-report survey administered in school settings and is designed to gather information about a variety of health and social indicators including substance use patterns and attitudes of Illinois youth.